Let’s start in the US, where Sidewalks & Skeletons and Brothel have been touring throughout all of October, bringing their bewitching show along a series of exciting openers such as Kota Kira and tomkillsjerry. ‘Phase 1’ of this tour features a few more dates in the States later this month before moving to Europe. If you’re in Los Angeles, Seattle, or Portland, check here for more info and tickets.

Talking about Europe, ADE 2024 was a quiet year for wave, with no dedicated events. It fell to skeler to represent the whole movement with a set at the insane VISION x Kompass Music Group boat party and, from what I’ve heard, he didn’t disappoint. “It was really surprising to see skeler on an almost exclusively Drum & Bass lineup” was the first thing that crowit., who attended the event, told me, adding that “this is also what made the set feel really special. Coming from high tempos and gnarly basses into a melody-driven Wave, Phonk & Hardwave set was like a needed breath of fresh air in the middle of the night.” crowit. also reported that “skeler’s set was a good mixture of his signature hardwave sound, his newer wave/phonk tunes” and, as expected from him, “a couple edits I haven’t heard before”.  “My highlight of the set was definitely the ending, where he played Tel Aviv and right afterwards an edit of it, with a mindblowing four-on-the-floor section”. 

After finishing writing the previous paragraph I realized how fantastic it is that the news I report in this monthly column is increasingly related to tours, festivals, and shows. We’re in a new era for the wave scene. We’ve been in for a while, to be honest, but sometimes is important just to say it out loud. Almost ten years in and the movement is going strong, eyes on the future. Plastician himself recently tweeted his call for a 10-year celebration event next year. Nothing is settled at the moment, but keep an eye on his and our social accounts to see how this plan will unfold. 

Moving on from live to recorded music, October’s playlist is, not surprisingly, a little bit spookier than the previous ones. I know Halloween is behind us at this point, but come on, true waveheads are into spookier vibes all year round.  For the first time in 2024, you won’t find a Juche song featured. Feels weird? I agree, but we actually got no releases from him this past month. MRJay didn’t break his streak instead, unveiling a new collaboration with the one and only Kareful. The good people at Harmony Heaven published an horror-themed compilation, excerpts of which you will find in the playlist, alongside tracks from Nick Neutronz, Heimanu, Altare, HAIKU, Tokyo Tears, almogfx, MYSTYK, nibiru’, and many more.  

The post Wave Monthly | October 2024 appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

There was no shortage of major releases that raised the OG sound to new heights, but at the same time there was no lack of artists venturing into largely virgin territories where they mixed the wave approach with drum&bass, trance, house, planting the seeds for a promising future for the movement. To be remembered in the same way as its predecessor, 2024 will have to hold no small surprises in store for us. For the time being, I believe the premises are there. On my side, to help you keep track of all the music to be released in the next eleven months, I will compile a monthly summary with the best releases, here on FUXWITHIT.

Easier said than done. If the next months are anything like February,  this will be one hell of a journey. To make amends for missing the January issue, I’m doubling down this month, but still, where can I start? cali.xo released her long-awaited EP ‘cry‘ at the beginning of the month, a suggestive project that alone would fill this list. Then Juche decided to show us no mercy, delivering one new release per week (one better than the others, of course), forcing me to make choices I didn’t want to make. He’s not alone though. Heimanu, Nick Neutronz, vowl, Kareful, Enjoii, Øtherside., all published multiple tracks this month as well. Then there’s Static Angel, who gifted us with one of her classic euphoric pieces, obey who went on remix duties on skeler’s ‘my fight‘,  KENOK who managed to squeeze hardware, breaks and trance in a single track and MitroWave who dived into electroclash territories with his latest EP. And that’s not all.

Check the full playlist below.

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The post Wave Monthly | February 2024 appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Each time a compilation is released, therefore, it’s a proper event, a moment to look forward to with curiosity, trepidation, and celebration. I might have been quiet about it, but this is exactly what I was feeling during the rollout of the long-awaited Liquid Ritual vol. 3 album. And I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one watching the label’s moves closely. After all, as one of the undisputed leaders of the scene, the Liquid Ritual team has both the honor of being in a position to lead the way into the future and, at the same time, the responsibility of keeping alive the roots on which it has built its legacy. For those familiar with their releases in the past ten months, the artistic direction of the Liquid Ritual brand was crystal clear (the melodic and darker side of wave), but with the recent launch of the ambitious Wave Global project, it wasn’t easy to make predictions.

After dozens of listens, I can say it without a shadow of doubt:  Vol. 3 is Liquid Ritual’s crown jewel.  This compilation is a testament to the label’s cultural commitment to showcasing the evolution of the genre and a tangent proof of the talent that crowds the scene at the moment. The sixteen artists involved, a clever mix of familiar and brand-new names, all delivered premium performances, without exception. Sixteen songs that span a diverse range of styles, from highly atmospheric cuts (‘let me go’, ‘NEVA’, ‘Mirage’) to more alternative works (‘Subterranea’, ‘U Hurt Me’) to garage-influenced tracks (‘The Morning After’, ‘Freefall’, ‘Where Are You Now’), bringing the listener on an immersive yet kaleidoscopic journey through the wave sound. The vocal pieces are exquisitely crafted as they all double down in the classic melancholic, ethereal, trancey mood that defines the genre.

The greatest merit of Liquid Ritual Vol. 3 is, in my opinion, that it’s a compilation that sounds extremely contemporary, yet it reflects well the essence and heritage of wave. It’s a must-listen for the most hardcore fans, but I can see it acting also as the perfect starting point for new adepts. Compared to many other compilations released in previous years, which embodied a specific historical moment or trend, Vol. 3 has the potential to evade temporal boundaries and stand as a timeless chapter in the history of the label and the wave movement. Props to Jude, Oskar, and the entire Liquid Ritual team for another first-class project and for showing once again where the “Home of Wave” is.

Listen to Liquid Ritual Vol.3 below or on your favorite platform.

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The post ‘Liquid Ritual: Volume 3’ Is Here appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

You’re in an emotional state of mind? Then you’re probably going to be charmed by the nostalgic vocal and will experience it as a wave ballad. You’re in a bellicose mood instead? That’s fine too. Your listen is probably going to be all about the wobbling bass. This multifaced nature is definitely the biggest virtue of ‘Wet,’ but not the only one. As happened in the previous release of the duo, ‘Second Sword’, even the structure of the track itself appears fluid. Kareful and Pholo rejected the build up-drop-breakdown formula offering us an uninterrupted three minutes flow, framed by a sublime intro and a compelling outro. This lack of reference points gives a feeling of stasis that I find phenomenal. It subverts expectations. It denies our brain the routine it already expected. Certainly, this is not a detail that you will notice immediately, but when, without realizing it, you’ll reach the end of the track and you’ll think “Is it finished already? Let’s play it again”, then you’ll understand that the trick worked.

With the hope to see more music signed by the two UK producers, stream ‘Wet’ below or on your favorite platform here.

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The post Pholo And Kareful Are Back With Their Third Collaboration Titled ‘Wet’ appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

While reading the interview, I highly suggest you listen to Kareful’s History of Wave Mix.

In an interview on The Playground alongside Noah B, Just Connor stated that considering wave a “genre” is a misconception, and that (in his opinion) wave should be considered a mindset and a community. For this reason, I’d like to start with the mother of all questions: what exactly is WAVE? Is it indeed a music genre? A movement? A mindset?

Kareful: This is a very good question. I have thought a lot about this. I think that because in the early days the wave genre was so loose, I would have considered it to be more a name of a musical movement or collection of artists instead of a genre name. The problem we had was that some stuff sounded really ambient and dark and some other stuff sounded really hard and clubby. But now with the hardwave / wave “split” that’s less of a problem and It can be considered just a genre with two very specific camps for producers.

Fyoomz: It’s all of those things and more. It began as a small but diverse community of producers and listeners around the world that has always been welcoming. The feeling of the music is what captivated me, but the inclusivity of the scene is the thing that’s kept me here. There’s a feeling of goodwill and supportiveness in wave which gives weight to the idea that it could be a mindset. This feeling is something I’ve always tried to amplify to the best of my ability, given that this is ultimately a wing of the music industry, and I am running a record label where I often have to make tough decisions about who to release or to book for shows. While major EDM artists giving us plays, bigger show bookings, and official genre recognition on Spotify is a major plus, it is not essential for us to keep moving forward. We don’t need industry recognition to support ourselves, as we’ve been happy to do our thing for the last 5-6 years now, but it is helpful. In that way, I see it as a movement.

Deadcrow: I think it’s both? A genre can’t exist without its own movement, in which a majority of the people have a similar mindset. Personally, I don’t like reading too far into it though, I think wave is definitely a genre, a genre that has become pretty recognizable through time if it wasn’t already.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: For us wave is the most significant and remarkable phenomenon in the current music landscape. We witnessed its birth and growth entirely. Right now we’re doing our best to help the genre grow further and become more popular. Yes, I agree that the genre doesn’t have an apparent structure that helps identify it. The gist of it is based on borrowing different elements from other genres. However, this genre is easily distinguishable, since it’s drastically different from those that it borrows features from. It sounds unique and fresh. I also want to say that, actually, wave has one distinct feature – a deep and inexplicable “wave atmosphere.” It’s tangible every track and it’s fantastic. Because of it, you really start to think that it’s a whole singular culture and community that feels the beauty and aesthetics of the genre.

Following the momentum started in 2019, I believe last year can be considered the biggest year for wave in terms of popularity. Would you agree? Have you seen a sensible growth of fans or a shift in the type of followers?

Kareful: I think wave has always been steadily growing. I think it was popular in a different way years ago. It was more popular in the UK and less popular elsewhere. And now we’re seeing wave basically be more popular also everywhere else but less relevant in the UK instead. So it’s a funny one. So I guess it’s sort of like, it’s already had several ups and downs in its history. In 2020 the hardwave stuff started to get a lot more attention on YouTube, which meant a lot more stats. We’ve seen people that really blow up on Spotify and start making an actual career out of this now. So yeah, I would say 2020 was probably one of the most successful year for a lot of the artists. I’ve seen a lot of my friends go from pretty much underground acts with a few thousand followers to make a decent living and that’s amazing!

Fyoomz: 2020 was on course to see exponential growth in wave across the board before COVID-19 hit. The fact that we haven’t been able to play in the clubs and at music festivals definitely stalled some of that momentum. That being said, we still are seeing larger labels and outlets like Trap Nation and Trap City embrace the harder side of the genre. Wave is starting to bleed into the mainstream and get popular. Certainly the growth in Spotify streams, follows, and likes is huge. I don’t know if there is massive growth across the board for everyone, but so far it is heartening.

Deadcrow: The growth this year has been insane. I personally felt like wave was a bit dead in 2018 and a little throughout 2019, which also caused me to go back to other genres that I like. But when I started hearing what guys like Skeler and Juche were making, to me it felt like there was new life being breathed into it. It sounded exciting again, and I think that reflects onto how big the genre has gotten this year. I don’t think there has been a “shift” in followers, there are just a lot of new followers that come from a different musical background. The genre isn’t just sad boy music on SoundCloud, it exists for the big stages now as well. That being said, I love seeing that people are still making the softer, “classic” sound as well as the new, harder stuff.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: I’d say that 2020 was more of a breakthrough for hardwave rather than wave itself. Of course, wave is growing each year too, but simply not as fast. The key factors that have contributed to this exponential growth are, in my opinion: the tremendous support of the hardwave audience, the influx of new fans from many different trap and EDM communities, and the participation of huge projects like Trap Nation, Trap City, and Tribal Trap.

A harder version of the genre was bound to happen, at least, I personally always wanted it to happen.
-Deadcrow

A theme that is closely connected with this vigorous growth is the critical debate between the wave and hardwave communities. Why do you think the two are perceived so differently despite having so much in common?

Kareful: I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the wave and the hardwave communities. After all, the two styles have always been tightly linked and many fans and producers live both without problems. One is a bit more likely to be played in the club, the other one is most suitable for a home listening. One is a lot darker and the other is a little bit more commercial, but the blend for me has been pretty smooth. A lot of us have been making the wavy stuff for like four or five years now. I think it’s natural that some of these artists are just evolving. A lot of them have been learning DJing and or have been DJing over the past few years as well. So it just makes sense that they are getting into tracks that can be played in the club, at festivals. I really think there isn’t much of a difference. I think the main beef a lot of producers and fans have with hardwave is just that in the early days of wave, producers sounded so different and people had more unique styles. People were getting popular by doing something different. Now, with the hardwave shift and the more EDM influence the demand has changed and seems like a lot of people are sticking to a certain style to appeal to mainstream curators, which I suppose probably diluted a lot the interesting new productions that would have been thriving if it wasn’t for this. That being said, a lot of the music is still really good. There are plenty of artists doing really cool hardwave stuff that is definitely unique. I guess it just depends how much time you actually put into digging deep into the sounds. As in every single other music genre, on the surface everything can sound a little bit watered down.

Fyoomz: To some degree this is the story of every bass music genre. Dubstep started as a minimal, meditative experience in the UK and migrated to the hardest festival music out there over the course of about a decade. Wave is absolutely in a similar stream of evolution. I don’t want the genre to stay stuck in 2016, but it’s important it not to lose sight of its roots either. Luckily, the biggest artists in wave all make a variety of stuff, and if they are leaning more into “hardwave” these days (to me it’s all wave) they still are putting out the more traditional type tunes as well. For me, variety and change is always something to strive for.

Deadcrow: I wish people didn’t create this divide. Most of us making either wave or hardwave (or both) are still the same people, we’re still from the same community. A harder version of the genre was bound to happen, at least, I personally always wanted it to happen. The discussion to me is pointless, it’s unnecessary and it creates a divide that doesn’t have to be there.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: There are many fundamental differences, that’s why it’s no surprise that they’re recognized differently. Hardwave came a long way from the core wave aesthetic. I’d say it’s a more commercial, aggressive, dance-oriented, and futuristic successor of wave. Most of these new fans don’t know the ideas and messages that were at the core of the wave community and then they created their own. I think it’s great! It happens to all the genres. At the beginning, they have a certain kind of community, but years pass and trends shift, communities change and the music changes as well. Once again, hardwave is not going to negatively impact the wave movement. On the contrary, I think it’ll introduce more and more listeners to the original wave sound.

I think it’s a misconception that hardwave is replacing wave.
-Kareful

Do you think that this division has the potential to negatively impact the development of the movement, especially when it will come to live events?

Kareful: No, I don’t think so at all. Actually, if you look at the Arcadia shows that happened in Russia, the lineup was a mix between dark chill and high energy producers. You had acts such as hyperforms, skeler and me who are a bit more hype and then, on the same line-ups, you had artists like vacant, brothel and barnacle boy, which are definitely more downtempo. So I think it’s a misconception that hardwave is replacing wave. When it comes to events, I think it’s good to have lots of different styles together so you can create a roller coaster in the curation of the night. You have those darker producers earlier or later on and you have the more hyper DJs in the middle. I mean, it just makes sense. I think there will always be a place for everyone, right now people are too defensive and just don’t realize this.

Fyoomz: Just the opposite. I predict wave will have a massive influx of fans in the coming years. The bandwagoners will jump on, enjoy their ride with our genre and our sound and then move onto the next thing, leaving just the true fans of wave behind, which is likely when we’ll see some of the most exciting developments of the genre.

Deadcrow: If we all work together it won’t.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: Without any doubt live events is where the two feel more distinct. Soon hardwave will be present on all the global music festivals and this will lead it to be more even popular. But again, I believe that wave will benefit greatly from this scenario as it will receive a lot of exposure too.

Talking about live shows, in the past years we’ve already seen highly successful examples of shows, tours and even festivals, but in a post-pandemic world, do you think local scenes will be strong enough to support a more consistent shift from digital to IRL?

Kareful: I’ve no idea, in London and in the UK it seems to be pretty fucked at the moment. To be honest with you, I have no idea when events are going to be running again. And when they are, probably these venues are going to not take any risks. They’re probably just going to play safe and push the genres that they know are going to sell tickets. That is definitely worrying. We had huge issues in London with lots of clubs closing down and stuff even before Covid. I think the pandemic is pretty much the final nail in the coffin for a lot of the clubs in the UK. Luckily we’ve all these new festivals and events all around Europe, Russia and America. Thanks to this worldwide presence, once we’ll be able to travel again I believe that we actually might see the wave live scene growing after all.

Fyoomz: Wave will suffer the same fate as any genre in the clubs and festivals. If society reopens, wave will continue to grow and we’ll start in where we left off.

Deadcrow: I don’t think it’ll just bounce back to normal right away. A lot of venues are closing, and people won’t have budgets to throw shows like they had before. Local/underground shows will happen again, but I wouldn’t count on it happening too soon.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: I think we’re going to be fine. People are waiting and eager for large live events after the lockdown, and event organizers know that. Besides, I think that everyone had a decent break during this time, and made enough money to come back. I’m already planning the upcoming ARCADIA II festival without any fears.

no outside outlet or big artist will determine the fate of our genre. We will do that ourselves.
-Fyoomz

As said before, in the past couple of years the awareness around Wave has grown exponentially and in 2020 we’ve seen some absolute giants in the bass music curation and publishing game, Trap Nation and Tribal Trap for example, jumping on the train and releasing full compilations other than just supporting tracks on their channels. How are you feeling about these mainstream players joining the party and especially about the way they did it?

Kareful: It’s just a natural progression. We always knew the YouTube channels would eventually start getting involved. They actually have already been supporting us for a while. In the beginning it was with random uploads here and there on Bass Nation or Trap Nations for example, but they wouldn’t really know what we were doing. Seeing them jumping in the scene today is totally fine. Some of them have been pretty respectful, others not so much, but I think it’s positive and I’ve not had any personal bad experiences with any of these. I won’t name anyone but, of course there’s going to be problems and there’s going to be people like spreading rumors or talking shit on Twitter about certain things. I saw that some producers were pretty upset and saying that when Trap Nation jumped in, the scene died. That’s not true. It’s probably the exact opposite. They definitely injected a whole load of new fans into the scene, which I think is super important. The main problem,I think, it’s that they are interested in just the hardwave sound and not as much on the wave style. A lot of people are probably upset because their preferred style of wave isn’t getting as much attention. Obviously, when style gets more attention, it’s gonna make producers that are making different ones want to start making that in order to not be left behind. So therefore you’re definitely going to have a shift in popularity in the scene. But as we’ve learned from history, popularity moves in cycles. Hyper sounds will reach a peak and then people will tend to “be bored” and will look for the softer and darker styles. It’s just natural. I think people probably just have to accept that and move on overall.

Fyoomz: I appreciate their interest… their input and promotion are welcome. They have largely been professional, and have conducted themselves cordially behind the scenes with me and everyone I know. As with any legitimate listener, artist, or organization who behaves themselves, I will welcome them with open arms in the spirit of wave. So far I’ve personally been happy to have them, but have not been majorly impressed with too many of their releases, although there are some exceptions. If they’re here to stay, great. But if they are just capitalizing on the next fad in EDM then fine, but no outside outlet or big artist will determine the fate of our genre. We will do that ourselves.

Deadcrow: I think it’s good that they’ve been able to give artists in the scene way more exposure.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: I’m glad that such projects acknowledged the genre and helped to spread awareness. However, the way they do it with their possibilities and reputation isn’t great, in my opinion. They could have surprised everyone, but there wasn’t enough enthusiasm in that area. For me, the most significant and interesting imprints in the genre are still wavemob, Liquid Ritual, vibe.digital, Yume. These guys who are lesser-known to the general public have it all: the aesthetics, conceptual music releases, and cult-favorite compilations that never cease to amaze me.

Wave won’t just be a popular genre, but it will rise among the most popular and loved ones.
-IMMINENT COLLECTIVE

Where do you see Wave in three years? Both globally and in your local scene.

Kareful: So, globally I see hardwave doing very well. I believe it’ll reach a lot of the festivals in America and Europe and of course there will be more and more tours in Russia and Poland where the scene is flourishing. A lot of EDM DJs are starting to jump on the sound now, so pretty soon we’re going to see a lot of people get invested in the sound also locally. I don’t think hardwave will do very well in the UK scene because it isn’t really much into that EDM sound. Trap never even really come over here so I can’t really see hardwave breaking through either. The UK is a really tough nut to crack. We’re quite a conservative country and we tend to stick with our English sounds. Obviously, we’ll still be doing our part in pushing our wave and hardwave nights in the UK. Booking international DJs and producers whenever we can as well as steadily support the local scene. Fingers crossed, these sounds will get big here and then we’ll be able to play a lot of shows around the country and make a nice career, but to be completely fair, I’m not that hopeful.

Fyoomz: Globally, I think we’ll see a number of artists start to make regular festival appearances and cement their status as a headliner. I think there will be regular wave nights in most of the major cities of the US and EU. I think Russia will continue to grow and likely dominate the live music scene for at least 2 of those 3 years. I’d also bet we’ll start to see major headliners, artists like RL Grime or Dillon Francis start to produce wave music. We’ll start to see the major music outlets like Beatport, Spotify, and Apple Music pay more attention as well, as our potential for profit grows. My local scene will continue to grind. It might be a little easier to get an audience, but it will likely be the same struggle for promoters as the model for live events continues to evolve.

Deadcrow: We currently don’t really have a local scene in Holland, it would be cool if we have one in 3 years though, which I think could definitely happen. Globally I think the genre will be way more established, and a whole bunch of us will have a large presence in electronic dance music. The future seems pretty bright in my opinion.

IMMINENT COLLECTIVE: My prediction is this: in 3 years the wave community will be able to attract the attention of every fan of electronic music. Wave won’t just be a popular genre, but it will rise among the most popular and loved ones. If you think about it, it’s clear that wave is a universal genre that can be enjoyed by anyone. It has all the best bits of EDM. It’s also important to add that the genre represents a futuristic aesthetic that’s gaining popularity really fast. That’s why I believe that the real breakthrough moment for wave is coming soon.

Although it’s now more difficult than ever to predict the future, all the answers seem to agree that the future of this movement is bright and its rise is only just at the beginning. As for me and FUXWITHIT, we will continue to follow and document the evolution of this genre and its culture, to promote and support its protagonists and their creations.

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The post Wave In 2021 And Beyond: The Present And Future Of The Movement appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

From that moment, for the following years as a blogger and as a fan I’ve carefully followed the growth of the movement and tried to do my little part in it. Wavemob and the_accidental_poet were my very first guides, followed by Yume, Liquid Ritual, and more recently, vibe.digital and IMMINENT Collective. Having witnessed how they (and many others of course) turned the term wave from an ambiguous label into a blazon representing a flourishing movement at the forefront of bass music has been an absolutely unique experience. Although 2020 will probably be remembered as the dark year, we cannot ignore instead how it was a period of exponential growth for wave. In the past twelve months, a good part of the bass scene realized what was happening behind the curtain and hungry for new sounds, has allowed itself to be immersed in the genre.

After a year of growth, it felt right and appropriate to me to take a moment to reflect and go back to the origins. In a world like the music industry, where too often culture is completely supplanted by business, I believe that the knowledge of our roots and where the music we listen to comes from is essential to ensure a bright future for the scene. I’m definitely not here to nostalgically defend what has been or to demonize what is new. Personally, I believe that without the “new” there is no evolution and therefore no future, but without “old” there is no identity and therefore no survival. In order to try to create a bridge between these two worlds and celebrate the history of wave, I decided to get in touch with no other than Kareful. As a pioneer whose story literally matches with the history of the movement itself, I consider him the right person to travel back to the beginning of this great journey with. In virtue of his role as an active producer and co-founder of Liquid Ritual, his knowledge spans not only across the years but also across multiple pivotal points of view.

When and how did it all begin? Where do the foundations of the wave lie? Who are its main players? This interview is not meant to be a complete encyclopedia but more of an access point through which to learn the essential know-how about this incredible genre and the culture that has emerged from it.

For a complete experience, while reading the interview I highly suggest you listen to Kareful’s History of Wave Mix.

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You are widely known as one of the OGs of the scene. You were there before even the “wave” label was coined and since then you’ve always been active both as a solo artist and with your label Liquid Ritual. If we had to draw a timeline of the movement for the new fans, when should it start?

So in the beginning, before the term wave was coined, we all just existed as a group of producers on SoundCloud. What we were doing was dipping in and out of different genres and borrowing tips from trap, cloud rap, Uk dubstep, grime, witch house, trance. Wave was basically an amalgamation of all these very different styles. Eventually, the sound was picked up by Plastician, who is known for being one of the early figures in grime and dubstep, and played in his Rinse FM show which was very influential. He played a lot of our music together and this is when we all started to realize that we were a lot more linked than we originally thought. After that, the first generation of collectives such as wavemob started to appear and this is also when the term wave started becoming accepted. The process has been pretty controversial though. When people started calling the music “wave” not everyone immediately accepted the term, but later on, it just felt fitting. We obviously started playing shows and releasing compilations together, collaborating more and more, and eventually other collectives and labels started forming around specific interpretations of the sound. For example, I ended up leaving Wavemob and I started my own label named Liquid Ritual. With it, I focused more on the UK and club-oriented style of wave, which I suppose was an early form of the hardwave one that it’s starting to get popular now.

It was no longer an online genre. We had the video and photographic evidence to argue that the genre was real.

What milestones have indelibly marked the history of wave up to this point? 

‘The Wave Pool’ mix (2015) made by Plastician is hands down one of the most pivotal moments in the history of wave. This was when a lot of the press started following the scene and a lot of producers started to get more interested in the sound. After that, it’s important to recall the big articles that were published back in the days. Especially the Mixmag, and UKF one, both published around 2017, were really important for the development of the scene. A lot of the early shows were determining moments for the identity of the movement, Skit’s Yusoul and Plastician’s Survey London nights above the others. I think the footage from these big events inspired a lot of producers around the world. They showed that wave wasn’t just a little online niche but it was happening in real life. The vibe.digital guys did the same a bit after in America, which has been fundamental for the growth of the international community. They started building a proper scene by throwing local shows and organizing tours also for European artists, which was incredible. I believe I also have a part in it too. While touring with Orbital in their “Comeback tour” for example I was able to play wave and introduce the genre to massive crowds of like 5 thousand people. Last but not least, the Liquid Ritual launch party where Lil Peep played was probably one of the biggest milestones in my career. We had this venue packed with excited kids and that was when I started really thinking “okay, this sound is going somewhere.” It was no longer an online genre. We had the video and photographic evidence to argue that the genre was real.

Who are the other pivotal figures in the birth and rise of the scene that every fan should know and acknowledge?

In addition to those I’ve already mentioned, Plastician, Skit and myself, I think is essential to reckon and remember the role of Trashlord, Brothel, Noah B, Klimeks, Ofdream (rip), and pretty much everyone else in the wavemob crew in the early stages. In more recent times instead, I think the artists who have had the greatest impact recently on the scene are skeler and Deadcrow.

Especially in its origins, wave was essentially a DIY, digital-based movement. Where did the first generation of artists and fans get in touch? Is there a certain platform that acted as a nest for the community more than others?

Originally it started on SoundCloud, but we didn’t really talk and engage much there. Things changed when Skype came along and a lot of producers started using this platform to connect and create huge group chats. There were loads of them! It wasn’t just with the wave guys but basically with all the main genres on SoundCloud at the time like witch house, trap, future bass. Later on came, of course, Facebook with its Groups. The ‘Wave City’ one was very important for a lot of people networking in the scene. Discord became extremely important too. The Wavepool Discord server at one point was really, really popular and pretty much everyone who was anyone in the scene was active there. Always talking about Wavepool, I believe its Reddit page has always been very important for music discovery.

In which other genres/scenes are the roots of wave set? In an electronic music family tree what would we find near it?

As I said before, wave sort of borrows bits and pieces from everything that’s ever come before. Bits of drum & bass, UK dubstep, garage, future garage, trance. It was just a natural progression. Anyway, I’d say you’re going to hear the influence mostly of SoundCloud music like trap, cloud rap and witch house. I’ve always described wave as a cleaner and more cyberpunk version of witch house or a term I’ve been using recently to describe wave would be ‘half time trance’.

The interesting thing about wave compared to a lot of other electronic music genres is that it didn’t have a real concreted bpm range when it first came out.

Going even deeper into nerd stuff, what are the lowest common denominators of wave tracks when it comes to production?

Elements you’re going to find in every wave track are, first of all, a lot of atmosphere. Of course re space is very routed to sound. Big saw wave leads, square wave leads, plucks, trancey leads, pads of course. The trap drums and stuff like 808 are essential to me. That’s pretty much everything you need to make a wave track. If you’ve got all those elements, it’s going to sound pretty wavy. The interesting thing about wave compared to a lot of other electronic music genres is that it didn’t have a real concreted bpm range when it first came out. The tracks used to go anywhere from like 100 bpm to like 155 bpm. The hardwave stuff that came later is even a little bit faster, around 140bpm to 160bpm, but most of the old wave stuff was pretty much around 120/130 bpm. Personally, I’ve always preferred the 140 bpm range. Being from the UK it’s just like a very comfortable tempo for us because it’s easier to sync it to dubstep and grime.

New sounds always start by copying the ones already existing and then they develop their own identities. However, seeing such points of view promoted in an article seemed unfair and honestly, driven just from jealousy.

Back in 2017, Noisey published this article titled “Wave Music Is a Marketing Tactic, Not a Microgenre.” Three years later, how would you answer this provocation? 

When Noisey published that article I was pretty shocked so I didn’t really understand it. It kind of felt like it tore apart and poke fun at the Mixmag article, which was great instead. I felt it was just a side effect of a sort of hysteria that happened in the neighboring music scenes in the UK. Maybe at the time a lot of people felt a little bit frightened by wave because we were getting so much attention despite being a DIY movement made by young kids. We were well aware that lots of people were snobbing wave because it was too lo-fi and DIY compared to more established genres at the time. Another of the most popular “accuses” that outsiders were moving us was that wave sounded too similar to other genres. But let’s face it, this is something that happens every time. New sounds always start by copying the ones already existing and then they develop their own identities. However, seeing such points of view promoted in an article seemed unfair and honestly, driven just from jealousy.

What can you tell us about this History of Wave Mix?

I dug through my old hard drive to find some music I was playing in 2015. To my surprise, I rediscovered so many important wave classics that had been totally forgotten. Mostly because the artists are no longer active or the tracks were deleted a long time ago. I also decided to include some of the Wave classics into this mix for a couple of reasons: they’re some of the best and most influential wave tracks and two to give the newcomers a crash course in the sound. If you listen to my mixes these days I usually start around the 140 bpm mark and it slowly gets faster and faster as the mixes go on. I wanted to keep this mix true to the sound, so started off around 110 pm eventually ending at 130 bpm. This is a very moody mix, I highly recommend it with a drive around the city late at night. Enjoy!

This article is the first part of a series dedicated to the wave scene. The next issue will focus on what the future holds for the genre and, alongside Kareful, it will feature Deadcrow, Fyoomz, skeler and IMMINENT Collective.

Tracklist:
CVRL – Rodijus
Silk Road Assassins – T (Peace Edit)
Foxwedding – U Should Chill
Brothel & Sidewalks and Skeletons – Dissolution
Plastician – Tainted
Whispa – l a s t y e a r i w a s n t e v e n w h i s p a
Sorrysines – Walker
Trashlord – Ghostchant ft. Glo & Madi Larson
2nervous2be – I’m Worthless
Kareful – Remember This if Anything
Tyler – Touching
CVRL – Subtefuge
Whispa – Tokyo
Sorsari – Children of Gaia
Klasey Jones – Cement
Foxwedding – Bare
Yedgar & Harukasuka – Silk
Kareful – I Loved a Witch Once
Deadcrow – Yawn
Plastician – Windwalker
Noah B – Cathedral
Klimeks – Dreamscape 95
Compa – Pain
Trashlord – Howls (Deadcrow Remix)
Kareful – She Through Her
Skit & Klimeks – Terminal
Skit & Kareful – Luminoscity

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‘Reflection’ is not only a pinnacle of Kareful and Liquid Ritual’s catalog, but also of the whole of wave’s production of 2020. As a fan of the softer side of the genre, I have the feeling that, lately, the Hardwave sound has become inflated and is often declined in ways that are a too, unnecessarily extreme. ‘Reflection’ instead perfectly balances deep and introspective sounds with more uplifting traits. Vaporous atmospheres that flirt with raucous basses, ethereal vocals that clash with high energy and solemn synths: this is what I look for in a wave track and that exactly what I got while listening to ‘Reflection.’ All the elements are carefully polished, worked, rounded and mixed in the right doses. There are no excesses or cheap clichés.

‘Reflection’ is the first record I produced after I had to leave Vietnam due to COVID. I had been without a music studio for 3 months, and I felt very inspired to get back into production after taking a break from it. It originally was an instrumental, but I felt it was missing something. My girlfriend Kokomaya said she really liked it, and started writing to it. This was our first attempt of making music together, so the track is very special to me. – Kareful

Since Kareful has accustomed us to instrumental cuts, I was extremely surprised to hear how Kokomaya’s writing and vocal contribution sounds extremely organic inside the composition. Could this be the beginning of a series of collaborations between the two? Given the success of this first experiment, I definitely hope so. You can stream ‘Reflection’ on SoundCloud below or on your favourite platform here.

The post Kareful Returns On Liquid Ritual With Vocal Anthem ‘Reflection’ Alongside Kokomaya appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Liquid Ritual’s mastermind Kareful and the UK rising star Pholo have teamed up for a full-spectrum experience, which goes way beyond just the music and surprises with its intense visual power. Each single element of the composition, from the deep bass to the mesmerizing arpeggiator, seems to physically shape the outline of an alternative digital world, a mystical place where you can get lost roaming “in the darkest depths, at the very edge of our awareness”.

Pause your life fora few minutes and catch this wave down below.

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